Glossary of poker terms

The following is a glossary of poker terms used in the card game of poker. It supplements the glossary of card game terms. Besides the terms listed here, there are thousands of common and uncommon poker slang terms. This is not intended to be a formal dictionary; precise usage details and multiple closely related senses are omitted here in favor of concise treatment of the basics.

To make a play (bet, call, raise, or fold) at the required time, compare to in turn

acting out of turn

A player in poker that either announces their actions or physically plays before their turn ( checks, folds etc ). Sometimes players act out of turn intentionally to get a read out of other players. When done intentionally, this is often referred to as "angle shooting." see angle shooting[1]

action

A player's turn to act

A willingness to gamble

A bet, along with all the calls of that bet

action button

A marker similar to a kill button, on which a player places an extra forced bet. In a seven-card stud high-low game, the action button is awarded to the winner of a scoop pot above a certain size, signifying that in the next pot, that player will be required to post an amount representing a completion of the bring-in to a full bet.

action card

In Texas hold 'em, and other community card poker games, a card appearing on the board that causes significant betting action because it helps two or more players

action only

In many cardrooms, with respect to an all-in bet, only a full (or half) bet can be reraised. Anything less than a full (or half) bet is considered to be action only, that is, other players can call the bet but not raise it. Compare with full bet rule and half bet rule.

active player

A player still involved in the pot. If there are side pots, an all-in player may be active in some pots, but not in others.

add-on

In a live game, to buy more chips before you have busted. In tournament play, a single rebuy for which all players are eligible regardless of their stack size. This is usually allowed only once, at the end of the rebuy period. The add-on often offers more chips per dollar invested than the buyin and rebuys. Compare with rebuy.

advertising

To make an obvious play or expose cards in such a way as to deliberately convey an impression to opponents about the advertising player's style of play.

aggressive, aggression

The tendency for a player to open betting or raise rather than call or check. See main article: aggression. Compare with loose, tight, passive.

aggression factor (AF)

A measure of a player's aggression, either in a particular betting round or over all betting rounds.

air

In lowball, giving air is when a player lets an opponent who might otherwise fold know that they intend to draw one or more cards, to induce them to call.

A dead hand

all in

When a player bets all of their chips in the current hand. See main article: all in.

When a player's stack is reduced by paying ever increasing blinds in tournaments.

blocker

In community card poker, holding one of the opponent's outs, typically when the board threatens a straight or straight draw. A blocker is also having a combination of cards that turn your opponent's outs into your own. Compare with dry ace.

blocking bet

An abnormally small bet made by a player out of position intended to discourage a larger bet by an opponent

bluff

A bet made with a hand that is mathematically unlikely to be the best hand, either to make money or to disguise play patterns. See main article: bluff.

bluff catching range

The number of hands that do not have any real value left on the river, but might still be good enough to catch the bluff of an opponent.[2]

bluff induce

To make an aggressive move with a strong hand to give the impression it is a bluff, in order to draw a bluff from an opponent.

An aspect of some poker tournaments that reward players for eliminating other players with a cash prize for each player they eliminate, separate from the tournament payout structure. See main article: bounty

box

The chip tray in front of a house dealer, and by extension, the house dealer's position at the table.

boxed card

A card encountered face-up in the assembled deck during the deal, as opposed to one overturned in the act of dealing. Most house rules treat a boxed card as if it does not exist; that is, it is placed aside and not used. Different rules cover cards exposed during the deal.

break

In a draw poker game, to discard cards that make a made hand in the hope of making a better one. In a jacks-or-better draw game, a player breaking a high pair must keep the discarded card aside, to prove he had openers.

To end a session of play.

During a tournament, an intermission.

brick

A blank, though more often used in the derogatory sense of a card that is undesirable rather than merely inconsequential,. Also known as a bomb. Compare with rags.

brick & mortar

A brick & mortar casino is a real casino based in a building, as opposed to an online casino. This refers to many real world locations as opposed to their Internet counterparts.

bridge order

Poker is neutral about suits, but in determining the dealer at the start of a game, or in determining the bringin bettor in a stud game, bridge rank rules are used: spades beat hearts beat diamonds beat clubs.

A forced bet in stud games. In the first betting round, the holder of the worst (lowest or highest, depending) upcard must post a bring-in bet. The bring-in bet is typically a quarter to a third of a small bet. The bring-in bettor may look at their cards, and place a full bet if they choose.

broadway

A 10 through ace straight. Can also include any group of cards from 10 to ace.

brush

A casino employee whose job it is to greet players entering the poker room, maintain the list of persons waiting to play, announce open seats, and various other duties (including brushing off tables to prepare them for new games, hence the name).

To recruit players into a game

bubble

The last finishing position in a poker tournament before entering the payout structure.

bubble factor

The factor by which the odds in chips differ from the odds in dollars.[2] See also main article: expected value.

buck

Marker to indicate which player is dealer (or last to act). See button.

A player who raises frequently to force out more cautious players, especially one with a large stack for the size of the game.[3]

burn card, burn

A card that is removed from the deal to prevent cheating. See main article: burn card.

busted

An uncompleted hand

To lose all of one's chips

button

Most commonly a marker that indicates the dealer position at the table, but other specialized buttons exist. See main article: button. Also buck or hat

buy-in

The minimum required amount of chips that must be bought to become involved in a game or tournament

buy short

To buy into a game for an amount smaller than the normal buy-in

buy the button

A rule originating in northern California casinos in games played with blinds, in which a new player sitting down with the button to their right (who would normally be required to sit out a hand as the button passed, then post to come in) may choose to pay the amount of both blinds for this one hand (the amount of the large blind playing as a live blind, and the amount of the small blind as dead money), play this hand, and then receive the button on the next hand as if they had been playing all along. See public cardroom rules

A tactic most often used by late-position players: a raise to encourage the later and button players to fold, thus giving the raiser last position in subsequent betting rounds.

buy the pot

Making a bet when no one else is betting so as to force the other players to fold, thus winning the pot uncontested. A specialized version of this is buying the blinds by making a large raise in the first round forcing all other players out of the hand.

A method of discouraging players from taking an excessively long time to act. When someone calls the clock, the player has a set amount of time in which to make up their mind; if they fail to do so, their hand is immediately declared dead. In tournament play, a common rule is that if a player takes too long and no one calls the clock, the dealer or floor personnel will automatically do so.

calling station

A player who frequently calls bets, but rarely raises them. A calling station is usually a loose passive player. See main article: calling station

cap

A limit on the number of raises allowed in a betting round. Typically three or four (in addition to the opening bet). In most casinos, the cap is removed if there are only two players remaining either at the beginning of the betting round, or at the time that what would have otherwise been the last raise is made.

Also, term for the chip, token, or object placed atop one's cards to show continued involvement with a hand.

cap game

Similar to cap above, but refers to a no-limit or pot limit game with a cap on the amount that a player can bet during the course of a hand. Once the cap is reached, all players remaining in the hand are considered all-in.[4]

A game where each hand is played for real money as opposed to tournament play. See main article: ring game

cash plays

An announcement, usually by a dealer, that a player who has requested to buy chips and can bet the cash they have on the table in lieu of chips until receiving their chips. In many card rooms, it also refers to the policy that $100 bills may remain on the table and are considered to be in play in cash form, rather than converted to chips.

cashing

Winning a share of the prize money in a tournament

cashing out

Exchanging chips for cash when leaving a game. Removing money from an online poker site.

catch

To receive needed cards on a draw. Often used with an adjective to further specify, catch perfect, catch inside, catch smooth.

catch up

To successfully complete a draw, thus defeating a player who previously had a better hand.

catch perfect

To catch the only two possible cards that will complete a hand and win the pot, often those leading to a straight flush. Usually used in Texas hold 'em. Compare with runner-runner.

center pot

The main pot in a table stakes game where one or more players are all in

A method of declaring intent to play high or low in a split-pot game with declaration. See declaration

chip dumping

A strategy whereby one player deliberately loses chips to another player. Where players have agreed to take such action together, this is a form of collusion.

chip leader

The player currently holding the most chips in a tournament (or occasionally a live no limit game)

chip race

An event in tournament poker where chips of a value lower than the minimum required are removed from play. See main article: chip race

chip up

To exchange lower-denomination chips for higher-denomination chips. In tournament play, the term means to remove all the small chips from play by rounding up any odd small chips to the nearest large denomination, rather than using a chip race.

To steadily accumulate chips in tournament play, typically by winning small pots with minimal risk-taking

chop

To split a pot because of a tie, split-pot game, or player agreement

To play a game for a short time and cash out. Also hit and run

A request made by a player for the dealer to make change

An agreement by all players remaining in a tournament to distribute the remaining money in the prize pool according to an agreed-upon formula instead of playing the tournament to completion. Usually occurs at the final table of a large tournament.

chopping the blinds

Ending a hand when all players have folded to the blinds with the blinds being returned to those who paid them. See main article: chopping the blinds

click raise

Making the minimum raise. Refers to online poker where players click the raise button without specifying the amount of raise.

A distinctive card, usually stiff solid-colored plastic, held against the bottom of the deck during the deal to prevent observation of the bottom card.

cutoff

The seat immediately to the right of the dealer button. In home games where the player on the button actually shuffles and deals the cards, the player in the cutoff seat cuts the deck (hence the name).

An action taken before receiving information to which the player would normally be entitled. Compare with blind

dead blind

A blind that is not live, in that the player posting it does not have the option to raise if other players just call. Usually involves a small blind posted by a player entering, or returning to, a game (in a position other than the big blind) that is posted in addition to a live blind equal to the big blind.

A player's hand that is not entitled to participate in the deal for some reason, such as having been fouled by touching another player's cards, being found to contain the wrong number of cards, being dealt to a player who did not make the appropriate forced bets, etc.

To distribute cards to players in accordance with the rules of the game being played.

A single instance of a game of poker, begun by shuffling the cards and ending with the award of a pot. Also called a hand (though both terms are ambiguous).

An agreement to split tournament prize money differently from the announced payouts.

deal twice

In a cash game, when two players are involved in a large pot and one is all-in, they might agree to deal the remaining cards twice. If one player wins both times he wins the whole pot, but if both players win one hand they split the pot. Also, play twice

dealer

The person dealing the cards.

The person who assumes that role for the purposes of betting order in a game, even though someone else might be physically dealing. Also button. Compare with buck

dealer's choice

A version of poker in which the deal passes each game and each dealer can choose, or invent, a new poker game each hand or orbit. See main article: dealer's choice

A stack of chips apparently of a single denomination, but with one or more chips of another. Usually the result of inattention while stacking a pot, but may also be an intentional deception.

discard

To take a previously dealt card out of play. The set of all discards for a deal is called the muck or the deadwood.

dominated hand

A hand that is extremely unlikely to win against another specific hand, even though it may not be a poor hand in its own right. Most commonly used in Texas hold 'em. See also domination

donk bet

A bet made by a donk, or one that is generally considered weak or to demonstrate inexperience or lack of understanding of strategy.

A bet made in early position by a player who did not take the initiative in the previous betting round. It was named because this move is often considered indicative of a weak player (since it is more often reasonable to expect a continuation bet).

a combination of hole cards and exposed cards in hold 'em or stud games which does not include four connected cards, but where there are two different ranks of card that complete a straight.

double-board, double-flop

Any of several community card game variants (usually Texas hold 'em) in which two separate boards of community cards are dealt simultaneously, with the pot split between the winning hands using each board.

double-draw

Any of several draw poker games in which the draw phase and subsequent betting round are repeated twice.

double raise

The minimum raise in a no-limit or pot-limit game, raising by just the amount of the current bet.

To pull chips away from the pot to indicate that the player does not have enough money to cover a bet. If their hand wins, the amount is ignored. If not, they must cover the amount out of pocket. This is not allowed at any casino.

Not drawing dead; that is, drawing to a hand that will win if successful

drawing thin

Not drawing completely dead, but chasing a draw in the face of poor odds.

drop

To fold

Money charged by the casino for providing its services, often dropped through a slot in the table into a strong box. See rake

To drop one's cards to the felt to indicate that one is in or out of a game

dry ace

In Omaha hold 'em or Texas hold 'em, an ace in one's hand without another card of the same suit. Used especially to denote the situation where the board presents a flush possibility, when the player does not in fact have a flush, but holding the ace presents some bluffing or semi-bluffing opportunity and a redraw in case the flush draw comes on turn. Compare with blocker

dry board

The texure of the community cards. A board is considered dry when the cards on the table mean that is unlikely or impossible that any player has made a strong hand like a straight or flush. Compare with wet board

dry pot

A side pot with no money created when a player goes all in and is called by more than one opponent, but not raised. If subsequent betting occurs, the money will go to the dry pot.

duplicate

To counterfeit, especially when the counterfeiting card matches one already present in one's hand.

A common qualifier in high-low split games that use ace-5 ranking. Only hands where the highest card is an eight or less can win the low portion of the pot.

equity

One's mathematical expected value from the current deal, calculated by multiplying the amount of money in the pot by one's probability of winning. If a split is possible, the equity also includes the probability of winning a split times the size of that split.

expectation, expected value, EV

See main article: expected value. Used in poker to mean profitability in the long run.

exposed card

A card whose face has been deliberately or accidentally revealed to players normally not entitled to that information during the play of the game. Various games have different rules about how to handle this irregularity. Compare with boxed card

A hand which, when matched against another in a showdown, has an advantage odds-wise over the other. A hand can be called a small or a big favorite depending on how much it is dominating the other. Contrast underdog where the situations are reversed. Favorites are usually used to compare how two hole cards do against two other hole cards pre-flop.

feeder

In a casino setting, a second or third table playing the same game as the main table, and from which players move to the main game as players are eliminated. Also called a must-move table

felt

The cloth covering of a poker table, whatever the actual material. Metaphorically, the table itself:

field

All players as a collective in a large tournament

fifth street

The last card dealt to the board in community card games. Also see river

The fifth card dealt to each player in stud poker

fill, fill up

To successfully draw to a hand that needs one card to complete it, by getting the last card of a straight, flush, or full house.

final table

The last table in a multi-table poker tournament. The final table is set when a sufficient amount of people have been eliminated from the tournament leaving an exact amount of players to occupy one table (typically no more than ten players).

Any card which becomes briefly exposed by accident to at least one player must be shown to all the players by the dealer during dealing. The card is said to be flashed to all players before being discarded to the muck pile. See also exposed

Unintentionally showing the bottom of the deck if not using a cut-card (an opaque non-play card used to conceal the bottom of the deck) is considered flashing.

Calling a bet with the intention of bluffing on a later betting round.

floorman, floorperson

A casino employee whose duties include adjudicating player disputes, keeping games filled and balanced, and managing dealers and other personnel. Players may shout floor to call for a floorperson to resolve a dispute, to ask for a table or seat change, or to ask for some other casino service.

flop

The dealing of the first three face-up cards to the board, refers also to those three cards themselves. Also see turn and river

In a casino where more than one table is playing the same game with the same betting structure, one of the tables may be designated the main table, and will be kept full by requiring a player to move from one of the feeder tables to fill any vacancies. Players will generally be informed that their table is a forced-move table to be used in this way before they agree to play there. Also must-move

forward motion

A house rule of some casinos states that if a player in turn picks up chips from his stack and moves their hand toward the pot (forward motion with chips in hand), this constitutes a commitment to bet (or call), and the player may not withdraw their hand to check or fold. Such a player still has the choice of whether to call or raise. Compare with string bet

fouled hand

A hand that is ruled unplayable because of an irregularity, such as being found with too many or too few cards, having been mixed with cards of other players or the muck, having fallen off the table, etc. Compare with dead hand

Four cards in rank sequence; either an open-ender or one-ender. A non-standard poker hand in some games, an incomplete drawing hand in most. Sometimes four to a straight

fourth street

The fourth card dealt to the board in community card games. Also turn

The fourth card dealt to each player in stud

free card

A card dealt to one's hand (or to the board of community cards) after a betting round in which no player opened. One is thereby being given a chance to improve one's hand without having to pay anything.

In flop games, a player drawing to, or even flopping, a straight with undercards to the flop has the idiot end of it. A player with 8-9 betting on a flop of A-T-J puts himself at great risk, because many of the cards that complete his straight give credible opponents higher ones.

A player is said to be in position, if the player is last to act on the flop, turn and river betting rounds. Compare with out of position

insurance

A deal in which players agree to split or reduce a pot (roughly in proportion to the chances of each of them winning) with more cards to come rather than playing out the hand, or a deal where one player makes a side bet against himself with a third party to hedge against a large loss.

in the middle

In a game with multiple blinds, an incoming player may sometimes be allowed to post the blinds in the middle (that is, out of their normal order) rather than having to wait for them to pass.

A player is said to be in turn if that player is expected to act next under the rules.

irregular declaration

An action taken by a player in turn that is not a straightforward declaration of intent, but that is reasonably interpreted as an action by other players, such as pointing a thumb up to signify a raise. House rules or dealer discretion may determine when such actions are meaningful and binding.

irregularity

Any of a number of abnormal conditions in play, such as unexpectedly exposed cards, that may call for corrective action. See public cardroom rules

A game of jackpot poker or jackpots, which is a variant of five-card draw with an ante from each player, no blinds, and an opening requirement of a pair of jacks or better.

A large pool of money collected by the house and awarded for some rare occurrence, typically a bad beat.

joker

A 53rd card used mostly in draw games. The joker may usually be used as an ace, or a card to complete a straight or flush, in high games, and as the lowest card not already present in a hand at low. See bug

A loose aggressive style of play in which a player plays a lot of starting hands and makes many small raises in hopes of out-playing their opponents.

last to act

A player is last to act if all players between the player and the button have folded.

laydown

A tough choice to fold a strong hand in anticipation of superior opposition.

lead

The player who makes the last bet or raise in a round of betting is said to have the lead at the start of the next round. Can also be used as a verb meaning to bet out into the pot, to lead into the pot.

level

Used in tournament play to refer to the size of the blinds that are periodically increased.

leg-up, leg-up button

The button used to signify who has won the previous hand in a kill game.

light

A hand that is not likely to be best. Usually used as an action descriptor; call light, three-bet light. See semi-bluff

A bet posted by a player under conditions that give them the option to raise even if no other player raises first; typically because it was posted as a blind or straddle.

live cards

In stud poker games, cards that will improve a hand that have not been seen among anyone's upcards, and are therefore presumably still available. In games such as Texas hold 'em, a player's hand is said to contain live cards if matching either of them on the board would give that player the lead over his opponent. Typically refers to a hand that is weak, but not dominated.

live hand

A hand still eligible to win the pot; one with the correct number of cards that has not been mucked or otherwise invalidated.

To lock up a seat in a cash game means to place a poker chip, player's card, or other personal effect on the table in front of the seat, to signify that the seat is occupied even though the player may not be present.

A required bet that is not posted when it is a player's turn to do so, perhaps occurring when a player absents themself from the table. Various rules require the missed bet to be made up upon the player's return.

move in

In a no-limit game, to move in or to go all in means to bet one's entire stake on the hand in play. See table stakes

muck

To fold

To discard one's hand without revealing the cards. Often done after winning without a showdown or at a showdown when a better hand has already been revealed.

The discard pile

multi-way pot

A pot where several players compete for it. Also known as a family pot, although family pot sometimes means a pot where all players participate.

Four out of the five cards needed for a straight that can only be completed with one specific rank of card, in cases where the needed card rank is either higher or lower than the cards already held as part of the sequence; as opposed to an inside straight draw or an open-ended straight draw.

While A-2-3-4 and A-K-Q-J are the only truly one-ended straight draw possibilities, an open-ended straight draw could be considered one-ended if one of the card ranks needed to complete it would also give an opponent a hand of higher rank than a straight.

The cards held by a player in a game of jackpots entitling them to open the pot. Splitting openers refers to holding onto one of the openers after discarding it as proof of having the necessary cards to open.

open limp

Being the first person in the pot preflop, but not raising

option

An optional bet or draw

The right to raise possessed by the big blind if there have been no raises.

orbit

A full rotation of the blinds at a table, equal to the number of people at the table.

An option to increase the stakes in limit games. Players may elect to play or not play overs; those who choose to play display some sort of token. If, at the beginning of a betting round after the first, only overs players remain in the hand, bets of twice the present limit are allowed. Most often used in home games as a compromise between aggressive and passive play.

A bet that is made more due to the strength of the bettor's position than the strength of the bettor's cards.

post

To make the required small or big blind bet in Texas hold 'em or other games played with blinds rather than antes.

post dead

To post a bet amount equal to the small and the big blind combined (the amount of the large blind playing as a live blind, and the amount of the small blind as dead money). In games played with blinds, a player who steps away from the table and misses their turn for the blinds must either post dead or wait for the big blind to re-enter the game. Compare with dead blind

The time when players already have their pocket cards but no flop has been dealt yet.

probe bet

A bet after the flop by a player who did not take the lead in betting before the flop (and when the player that did take the lead in betting before the flop declined to act). Compare with continuation bet

prop, proposition player

A player who gets paid an hourly rate to start poker games or to help them stay active. Prop players play with their own money, which distinguishes them from shills, who play with the house's money.

protected pot

A pot that seems impossible to bluff to win because too many players are active in it and the chances of another player either calling to the end or raising beyond measure become an assurance.

A qualifying low hand. High-low split games often require a minimum hand value, such as eight-high, in order to award the low half of the pot. In some home games, there are qualifiers for high hands as well.

quartered

To win a quarter of a pot, usually by tying the low or high hand of a high-low split game. Generally, this is an unwanted outcome, as a player is often putting in a third of the pot in the hope of winning a quarter of the pot back.

After a hand is complete, to reveal cards that would have been dealt later in the hand had it continued. This is usually prohibited in casinos because it slows the game and may reveal information about concealed hands. Also fox hunt

The rail is the sideline at a poker table—the (often imaginary) rail separates spectators from the field of play. Watching from the rail means watching a poker game as a spectator. Going to the rail usually means losing all one's money.

Rebate or repayment to a player a portion of the rake paid by that player, normally from a non-cardroom, third-party source such as an affiliate. Rakeback is paid in many ways by online poker rooms, affiliates or brick and mortar rooms. Many use direct money payments for online poker play. Brick and mortar rooms usually use rate cards to track and pay their rakeback. See main article: rakeback

Rakeback pro

A rakeback pro is a poker player who may not be a winning player, however, uses rakeback to supplement their losses and turn them into winnings.

range of hands

The list of holdings that a player considers an opponent might have when trying to deduce their holding. See also put on

rathole

To remove a portion of one's chips from the table while the game is underway. Normally prohibited in public card rooms. Also going south

rebuy

An amount of chips purchased after the buy-in. In some tournaments, players are allowed to rebuy chips one or more times for a limited period after the start of the game, providing that their stack is at or under its initial level. Compare with add-on

redeal

To deal a hand again, possibly after a misdeal

redraw

To make one hand and have a draw for a better hand

Second or later draws in a draw game with multiple draws

represent

To represent a hand is to play as if it were held (whether it is or not).

The river or river card is the final card dealt in a poker hand, to be followed by a final round of betting and, if necessary, a showdown. In Texas hold 'em and Omaha hold'em, the river is the fifth and last card to be dealt to the community card board, after the flop and turn. A player losing the pot due only to the river card is said to have been rivered.

rock

A very tight player (plays very few hands and only continues with strong hands).

A bundle of chips held together with a rubber band, or other token signifying an obligatory live straddle. If the player under the gun has the rock, they must use it to post a live straddle. The winner of the pot collects the rock and is obligated to use it in turn.

Royal card are also known as face cards or picture cards. These cards consist of the jack, queen, and king of every suit.

royal flush

A straight flush of the top five cards of any suit. This is generally the highest possible hand.

run it twice, running it twice

A gentleman's agreement (not allowed in some casinos) where the players (usually two or three) agree to draw each remaining card to come in two different occasions instead of just once after all parties have gone all-in (two flops, turns and river for example for a total of 10 community cards in two sets of five). The winner of one run gets half the pot while the winner of the second run gets the other half. Running it twice is done to minimize bad beats and reduce bankroll swings. Running it twice is a form of insurance.

In spread limit poker, to sell a hand is to bet less than the maximum with a strong hand, in the hope that more opponents will call the bet.

semi-bluff

When a player bluffs on one round of betting with an inferior or drawing hand that might improve in a later round. See main article: semi-bluff

set

Three of a kind, especially a situation where two of the cards are concealed in the player's hole cards. Compare with trips

set-up

A deck that has been ordered, usually king to ace by suit (spades, hearts, clubs and diamonds). In casinos, it is customary to use a set-up deck when introducing a new deck to the table. The set-up is spread face up for the players to demonstrate that all of the cards are present before the first shuffle. Also called spading the deck

sevens rule

A rule in many A-5 lowball games that requires a player with a seven-low or better after the draw to bet, rather than check or check-raise. In some venues, a violator loses any future interest in the pot; in others they forfeit their interest entirely.

A slanted container used to hold the cards yet to be dealt, usually used by casinos and in professional poker tournaments. See main article: shoe (cards).

shootout

A poker tournament format where the last remaining player of a table goes on to play the remaining players of other tables. Each table plays independently of the others; that is, there is no balancing as players are eliminated.

short buy

In no-limit poker, to buy into a game for considerably less money than the stated maximum buyin, or less than other players at the table have in play.

A poker game that is played with six players or fewer, as opposed to a full ring game, which is usually nine or ten players. A tournament where all tables are shorthanded at all times is called a short table tournament.

showdown

When, if more than one player remains after the last betting round, remaining players expose and compare their hands to determine the winner or winners. See main article: showdown

side game

A ring game running concurrently with a tournament made up of players who have either been eliminated or opted not to play the tournament.

side pot

A separate pot created to deal with the situation of one player going "all in". See betting (poker)

sit and go

A poker tournament with no scheduled starting time that starts whenever the necessary players have put up their money. Single-table sit-and-gos, with nine or ten players, are the norm, but multi-table games are common as well. Also called sit 'n gos

A form of limit poker where the bets and raises can be between a minimum and maximum value. The spread may change between rounds.

squeeze play

A bluff reraise in no limithold'em with less-than-premium cards, after another player or players have already called the original raise. The goal is to bluff everyone out of the hand and steal the bets.

stack

The total chips and currency that a player has in play at a given moment

A collection of 20 poker chips of the same denomination, usually arranged in an orderly column

stakes

The amount one buys in for and can bet.

staking

Staking is the act of one person putting up cash for a poker player to play with in hopes that the player wins. Any profits are split on a predetermined percentage between the backer and the player. A backed player is often known as a horse. Compare with bankroll

stand pat

In draw poker, playing the original hand using no draws, either as a bluff or in the belief it is the best hand.

A tight aggressive style of play in which a player plays a small number of strong starting hands, but when in pots plays aggressively.

tainted outs

Cards that improve a hand so that it is better than the other current hands, but simultaneously improve other hands even more. See also outs

tell

A tell in poker is a detectable change in a player's behavior or demeanor that gives clues to that player's assessment of their hand. See main article: tell

texture

How well coordinated the community cards are to one another. This is used to estimate relative hand strength. See also dry board and wet board

third man walking

A player who gets up from his seat in a cash game, after two other players are already away from the table, is referred to as the third man walking. In a casino with a third man walking rule, this player may be required to return to his seat within 10 minutes, or one rotation of the deal around the table, or else his seat in the game will be forfeited if there is a waiting list for the game.

A type of tournament where the blind levels increase much faster than in standard play.

turn

The turn, turn card or fourth street is the fourth of five cards dealt to a community card board, constituting one face-up community card that each of the players in the game can use to make up their final hand. See also flop and river

Voluntary put money in pot. Represents the percentage of hands with which a player puts money into the pot pre-flop, without counting any blind postings. VPIP is an excellent measure of how tight or loose a player is.

An upcard in stud poker. The first window card in stud is called the door card. In Texas hold'em and Omaha, the window card is the first card shown when the dealer puts out the three cards for the flop.

wrap

In Omaha hold 'em, a wrap is a straight draw with nine or more outs[6] comprising two board cards and three or four cards from a player's hand.